Dean Richards insisted any digs about being beaten by a Championship team would not register on his radar after Newcastle Falcons fell by a point to Rotherham on Saturday.

Having lost by a single point in Bayonne a fortnight earlier the director of rugby reiterated his belief that performance rather than result is the more significant measurement as his side ready themselves for their Premiership opener at Leicester a week on Saturday.

Between now and then comes Friday’s friendly with Edinburgh in Hawick, Richards brushing away the significance of Saturday’s loss as the Falcons christened their new plastic pitch.

“I am not bothered about the result in pre-season, although obviously I don’t like losing,” said the former England and Lions No 8.

“I look at performances, and understanding whether the boys are doing what we are asking them to. On the whole they did that, and things will open up for them if they can do that in other areas.”

Newcastle matched Rotherham’s three tries as they battled back from 14-0 down, Curtis Wilson opening up for the Titans on the counter-attack and right-wing James Broadley crossing after Callum Green was sent to the sin-bin on his home debut.

Scott Lawson used a powerful rolling maul to cross for the try which reduced the half-time deficit to 14-7, the Titans registering their third try on 51 minutes when full-back Sean Scanlon hit a well-timed line to dot down in the left corner.

James McKinney’s penalty ensured the Falcons needed two scores to win it, meaning when debut centre Juan Pablo Socino crossed impressively against his former club they were still short of their target.

Hopeful his side can acclimatise to their new plastic pitch, Richards said: “I thought it was pretty interesting, to be honest.

“Everybody thought that with it being a 3G pitch they would be able to play as much rugby as they wanted, but people tend to forget how slippy the ball can be in torrential rain.

“On occasions if it is tipping it down you have got to play the game down in their half.

“We talked about playing with a little bit of tempo, but understanding how to put tempo on to the ball is a slightly different thing.

“Quick tap penalties are not always what is wanted, and it is the ability to be able to raise the pace of the game.”

Finding positives in a game which saw Newcastle dusting off a few cobwebs, he added: “Simon Hammersley was outstanding at full-back and played really well, we scrummaged well and the line-out functioned effectively.

“Rotherham were competitive at the breakdown, and when I spoke to their coaches about it afterwards they said a lot of that is down to the fact they train on a 3G pitch most of the time. For us to start training on it and understanding it a bit better, I think we can be more competitive at the breakdown as a result.”